


Tia Lovelace: Backstory

by Predi_Cam_Ment



Category: Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types, Original Work
Genre: Abuse, Dont worry it’s only for the first few paragraphs, F/F, I love my tiefling nurse boy!!!!, M/M, Mentions of Blood, Trans Female Character, Trans Male Character, im sooooooooo soft for this BOY y’all, just goin tru his life and soft moments, mentions of animal death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-29
Updated: 2019-10-29
Packaged: 2021-01-08 02:40:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21228428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Predi_Cam_Ment/pseuds/Predi_Cam_Ment
Summary: Backstory for my dnd character! It’s the longest thing I’ve ever written and I’m super proud of it!





	Tia Lovelace: Backstory

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this a bit ago, and decided to actually post it somewhere online!

“When I was little, I never knew my father. I lived in a cottage with my mother until I was eight years old. It was in the middle of the woods, completely cut off from the rest of the world. Everyday was spent training, training, and training until I couldn’t feel anything anymore and passed out. I loved my mother more than anything else in the world, even myself, but looking back on it now— she was a terrible mother honestly”

“Do it, [][][][][]!” My mother hissed in Infernal. I was crying, hands shaking as I held a large rock over the small body of a blue jay. Finally, I had brought down something, but now I just couldn’t finish the actual deed, “You’ve been working on this for years, don’t disappoint me now.”

I knew that, I knew that I’ve been working on this for so long, I knew that I would just be a disappointment to her…. But still….. I threw the rock to the side and cradled the small body in my arms, sobbing.

“..... What kind of tiefling are you? You’re so weak and small, you can’t even kill a simple bird?” She growled and suddenly gripped my long hair forcefully, ripping me away from the small bird.

I cried out and blindly tried to rip her hand away, but her grip was too strong as she pulled me towards our home. She threw me in the cottage as soon as she opened the door, all the while I was begging for forgiveness, “I’m sorry, mother! I’ll do better, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

She didn’t respond, simply looking down at me for a few moments… before she turned towards the door and started walking out. I started to walk towards her before she suddenly turned and clawed at me, scratching my right eye harshly, “You… stay here.” I tried to protest, but the look in her eyes made me whimper and back away into the house more.

She slammed the door behind her, and when I could finally stop hearing her footsteps… I burst into tears and curled up on the ground. I felt at my eye and when I pulled back, my hand was covered in blood, causing me to cry more. And I continued to cry until I fell asleep, hoping that my mother would soon return.

When I woke up, my mother had most certainly not returned. The moonlight shone through the window, and the cottage was eerily quiet.

The fireplace was not lit, and I shivered at how cold it was, “Mother…..?”. When there was no response, I shakily stood and walked towards the door hesitantly. When I reached the front door, I stopped for a moment— I had never left without my mother before.. But I had to look for her. I breathed in and opened the door…

It was probably around midnight, and the moon was high in the sky. I walked around the normal route we usually went down, carefully dodging rocks and branches. Finally, I made it to the spot where we would usually stop our hunting, a little clearing that was devoid of any foliage at all. I had never been past this spot before, but I had to find my mother, so I pushed on. As I went on, the noises in the woods were slowly getting to me— even the snapping of a branch made me flinch.

I was good for a while, walking through the woods without much of a care-- until I heard a howl in the distance. Then, without any thinking at all-- I just started running. Running and running without any care for my surroundings, cuts and scrapes started to slowly add up on my body. But I couldn’t stop, with pure adrenaline rushing through me, and I didn’t even notice as I was suddenly skidding down a hill. Then, I fell.

I could feel awful pain as I went down the hill, bumping and bashing against rocks and sticks on the ground. And as I opened my eyes, I slammed against a rock-- a loud snap ringing out. When I finally reached the bottom, I was covered in bruises and scrapes. I shakily looked around and saw something lying on the ground…. The tip of my left horn. All I felt was pure numbness as I picked it up and limped towards a light through the trees. As I approached it, I realized what it was-- a small village, something I only heard from my mother… I wanted to run, but suddenly, I passed out.

—————————  
“Now, when I made it to that place… I had no idea I would live there for the rest of my life. This town would become the best place I would ever stay in since the day I was born, and I’d have the happiest memories I’ve ever had here. But first….. I had to learn Common.”

When I awoke, all I could hear was the shuffling of someone moving around. For a split second, I felt a profound sense of hope that my mother had finally returned— until the memories of the previous night came flooding back to me. The forest, the mountain, the…village. Suddenly I gasped and forced myself into a sitting position, flinching at the horrible pain that washed over me. Then I heard the sound of footsteps from the next room over.

This is it, I’ve been kidnapped by the terrifying humans my mother always warned me about. Now I’m going to die, and prove that my mother had been right all along about how useless I am—

“You shouldn’t sit up, Little one! You must still be hurting from when we found you.” It was definitely a...voice? I couldn’t understand what it said but… the thing that concerned me was the creature the noise had come from. He looked like one of those animals my mother had taught me about… a cow I think it was.

I guess the creature could see the confusion on my face and the defensive nature in my body language, because he muttered something before leaving the room. I almost considered hopping off the bed and running, but then the creature came back in the room, this time with a… tiefling? Following him.

“I need your assistance with translating, Malleus…. it appears she doesn’t know any common.” The creature seemed to somewhat mumble, like he didn’t want me to hear what he was saying.

The tiefling— Malleus, I think is what he said, smiled, “Sure, pops, I think I can speak a bit of infernal for you.” And then he turned to me, “Hello, my name is Malleus, we don’t want to hurt you, don’t worry. What’s your name?

I just stared back blankly and shifted into a defensive position— how Could villages not want to hurt me? I could never fall for such an obvious lie.

Malleus sighed and turned back towards the creature… man, “Hey, dad? Could you go get Emory and Kristine while I explain some stuff to her?”

The cow-man nodded at whatever Maleus said and left the room, giving me just a slight feeling of comfort.

Then Malleus turned back to me, and all that comfort melted out of me at once, “That’s my father- he’s a doctor, he’s just here to help you.”

That’s his father? How could that possibly be, they look nothing alike! I think the shock and confusion on my face was quite apparent, because Malleus chuckled, “Adoptive father, meaning he wasn’t involved in actually, well, making me.”

I didn’t understand what that meant, but I just nodded anyway. That would probably make this all go faster.

“Anyways- he’s going to get the two women who found you, they’re both very kind and they discovered you passed out in their backyard. Of course, they immediately brought you here.”

I didn’t know what a backyard was— but I wasn’t going to ask when I was finally getting some answers to my current situation.

“I just want to know how you got there- I promise, I won’t tell the others anything they don’t need to know.”

I didn’t want to believe that but… he had a look on his face— one of such sincerity, something I’ve never seen my whole life, I nodded before I could even think about it.

“Great. You can go at your own pace, I won’t rush you.”

I mulled over what I was going to say for w few minutes, before sighing and muttering, “My mother left me in our home. I left. Fell down. Now I’m here.”

When I said that, suddenly another memory came surging back to me and I wildly gripped at my horn— discovering that it was, indeed, still snapped off.

“Yeah… sorry, but there was nothing my dad could do to fix that. He cleaned up the cut on your eye though- you’re incredibly lucky that it didn’t affect your actual eye.”

I felt numb at that, my horn really just snapped off. Nothing I could do about it? My mother once said that a tiefling’s horns and tail were the things that defined a tiefling— without them, and you were a joke. Now I lost one of those three things. Of course.

Then, the cow-man walked through the door yet again— two women trailing behind him. One was of average height, with dark skin and a wrapping around her head. The other was quite tall, with pale skin and black hair that looked like ink with how dark it was around her shoulders. The only characteristic they had in common was the look of worry painted across their faces.

“Oh my goodness, we were so worried Dr. Aeris! Thank you for taking care of her...” The smaller one spoke.

“Those are the ladies that found you, their names are Emory and Kristine.”

I eyed up the women cautiously, but as soon as I deemed that they weren’t going to hurt me, I relaxed slightly. I’ve only ever been around women after all.

“Mal? Could you ask her what her name is? And where she’s from, so we can bring her home?”, The smaller one seemed to ask.

“Sure.” Then Malleus turned to me, “So, what’s your name, kid?

“.....Parva. But I don’t like that name.”

“Well then…… what do you want to be called then?”

“I dunno.” Why would I know what I want to be called? I didn’t even know Malleus, or Emory, of Kristine was a name until today. I just hate that my name means ‘little’.....

“Shoulda expected that from a kid.” He chuckled, “Well, then how about where you live? You live with your mother, right? She’s probably really worried about you.”

At that, I slumped down, “She doesn’t want to see me anymore. I’m a disappointment.”

A flash of understanding came across Malleus' face before it changed to… pity, “Well then, would you like to stay here? Unfortunately, me and my dad don’t have any room— but Emory and Kristine could take you in.”

I thought about it for a second— before I decided I didn’t really have a choice and just nodded my head. I don’t know what I want anymore. I used to do everything for my mother, but now I don’t even have that.

Malleus smiled a bit and then turned towards the women, “She doesn’t have anywhere to go, she’s cool with staying with you two.”

The two women seemed to brighten up considerably, “That’s great! We’ve been wanting to adopt but never had the time haha…” Kristine smiled softly.

“Me and Kristine can teach you common, and you’ll have a room all to yourself! It’s gonna be so cool!”

I just grunted and pulled my legs up to my chest, what did I get myself into…………..

————————————  
“So, it turns out— I got myself into the place where I would get my happiest memories. It took much longer than usual to teach me common, considering that I was a bit… difficult. It took a long time for me to finally warm up to my moms……. and the night I finally did, was one of the worst nights since I had gotten to the village.”

I was alone. Pure darkness everywhere. Where was I? Kristine and Emory just put me to bed, where were they? What if they left me? What if they finally decided that I was too much to put up with. They… abandoned me? They abandoned me. They abandoned me, of course they did. I’m just a disappointment. Useless useless useless useless useless useless—

Useless  
Useless  
USELESS  
USELESS  
USELESS—

I gasped as I woke up, tears burning in my eyes. I was absolutely trembling— breathing ragged and hard. Without even thinking I ran out of room and down a hallway to Emory and Kristine’s room. Then I stopped— Why was I going to their room? I shouldn’t need help I’m…. I kept on running to their room.

I opened it slowly, desperately not trying to make the door creak. As I stepped in, the entire room was pitch black, the only light coming from the cracked open door. Despite my best efforts to not make any noise, Kristine almost immediately started to wake up as soon as I entered the room.

“Mmmmm…. Tiana? What’re you doing in here?” She mumbled sleepily, rubbing at her eyes. Tiana was the name that they had decided for me, I like it better than Parva.

“Nightmare.” Most of my conversations in common went like that, I just answered with a few or less words all the time.

“Oh….. you wanna talk about it?” I know she meant well but…. I shook my head ‘no’. Instead of most people, who’d just send me back to my bed, she smiled, “You wanna sleep here tonight?”

I nodded, smiling slightly— not like I’d ever tell her that. She moved over on the bed, which made Emory wake up, but she just saw the scene and quickly went back to bed. I snuggled between the two and fell asleep faster than I ever had before.

———————————  
“After that, I realized that these two only wanted the best for me…. It took me longer to get used to the rest of the town but eventually I warmed up to everyone. And I became a little social butterfly in the village! I even went under Dr. Aeris’ wing because I had a fascination with all things involving helping people. And my life was spent being a normal kid and occasionally watching Dr. Aeris work. Then, when I was twelve, I had a particularly fascinating conversation with Malleus ...”

It was a normal day in the village— the sun was shining and all the kids around town were playing. Currently, I was having a talk with Malleus, the only other tiefling in the village— he may not have to be my translator anymore, but we were still great friends.

“So, kid, how have you been liking it here in Doveport?” We were currently sitting on a bench in the middle of town, with large bushes of beautiful flowers around us.

“It’s amazing! I love my moms, Dr. Aeris is super cool, and my name is even super pretty!” I grinned, I truly did become so much happier after I left my old mother.

“I’m glad you love your name, it suits you! I had to fight so much to get my current name ...” He chuckled and looked away solemnly.

My head tilted in confusion, “Huh? Why?”

“Well… it’s kind of a long story, are you up to listen to it?”

“Of course!! I love your awesome stories!” I shuffled closer to him and started listening intently.

Malleus laughed and looked down at me, “Well alright then…. I grew up in a strict tiefling tribe when I was your age. I was never happy, I hated the way we all did things— all the evil things we did. It was awful, and my parents never made it any better. From an early age I… realized I was a boy even though I was born a girl, like you. And when I left and got adopted by my dad… I could finally be myself— the man I always wanted to be… and I got to choose the name Malleus for myself…. so that’s why it’s so important to me I guess… haha.” He laughed and looked away, a small smile of nostalgia on his face.

I gasped, “Wait Wait Wait— you can be a boy even though you used to be a girl?!” I jumped up and started to hop around in excitement, “That's so cool!!!”

Malleus chuckled, “The proper term is called being transgender, like I’m a trans man— and my little sister Jo is a trans woman!”

Hearing that made me stop dead in my tracks— Transgender. It felt like suddenly everything made sense, those weird nights when I’d think about how it would be to be a boy. Those days where being called a girl, daughter, she— made me feel so sad. And suddenly tears spring into my eyes and I whipped around to look at Malleus, “Mal… I think I’m a boy!”

Malleus stopped whatever chuckling he was doing at my excitement and then smiled widely, “That's… that’s so awesome, kid!”

And suddenly he hugged me, dragging me off the ground and spinning me in the air. We were both incredibly happy at the realization I just had.

———————————  
“Finding out that I was trans was one of the best days of my life— but then the hard part soon came after. Telling other people I was a boy.”

I drew in a big breath, it’s been a week since I figured out I was a boy. And now I was gonna tell my moms about it. Me and Mal had been discussing it almost everyday— and I finally got enough courage to do it.

I’m currently sitting in our living room, my mothers were currently also chilling out on our couch with me. It’s now or never I guess, “So uh, mama, mom? I got some…. stuff to talk to you about.”

Emory looked over and smiled, showing off her gapped teeth, “What’s up, buttercup?”

I giggled at the nickname, before I suddenly made my expression serious, “It's ... uh….. pretty important?”

That made them both have a look of worry cross their faces, and they turned to look at me, “Is everything alright?” Kristine asked.

“Yeah! Yeah. It’s just well um…. you guys know how Malleus is a boy but he didn’t…. he wasn’t always a boy? At least not, uh, physically?”

“Yeah?” Kristine answered, “Didn’t know he told you about that.”

“He told me a week ago and, well……” I suddenly realized I was shaking. Why? It’s not like they wouldn’t support me! I’m just now their son instead of their daughter….

Emory smiled at me reassuringly, and held my hand. That gave my a sudden surge of courage, “Well I’m….. also trans! I’m a boy now! I’m now your son, not your daughter!” Oh wow I didn’t mean to yell that, yikes…..

I looked down, scared to see their expressions, but then I was pulled into a tight hug.

“Oh sweetie….. we’re so happy you trusted us enough to tell us that ... we just want you to be happy. And if that means you’re our son ... then who cares! We still love you, no matter what.” Kristine sounded like she was on the verge of tears, while Emory was absolutely crying against my shoulder.

I giggled, sniffling and trying to rub back the tears I didn’t know had formed, “I’m glad you guys support me…”

We sat there for a while, just hugging each other and crying happy tears. But when we eventually had to pull away….

“So…. what do you want to be called now? I don’t think ‘Tiana’ will exactly work for you now…” Kristine laughed, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief.

“Well….. I still like Tiana ... but it is too…. girly for me now.” I hummed a bit, thinking. Then suddenly an idea came to me, “What about….. Tia? It’s Tiana but shortened! So it’s still pretty but also my name now!”

My mother’s smiles were full of utter pride, “That's a wonderful name, sugar…. You want me to cut your hair for you?” Emory asked, and she laughed at the vigorous nodding I did.

———————————  
“So then, the basic parts of my transformation into Tia was complete! But then I had to come out to the entire town, which went great! Dr. Aeris supported me and told me that I was going to officially become his nursing assistant! Jo told me that I was now her TBF(Trans Best Friend, If you didn’t know), and we became much closer— she was Dr. Aeris’ biological daughter by the way! Over the next year I started going on some magic to give me testosterone, and getting ready to have top surgery from Dr. Aeris in a few years.”

“Now, I didn’t give my sexuality any thought really ... but then, at thirteen, I met the man who would become my best friend….”

I was currently in the infirmary, treating some minor wounds on some of the guards. So far it has been a pretty quiet day, other than these guards I’ve had zero other patients at all for the past week. Of course, I loved helping people in any way I can! But I do wish it was a bit less boring….

And then, as though the fates themselves had heard me, the front door to the infirmary opened, and Ms. Liabella rushed in. She was cradling the body of a child who looked about my age in her arms. She’s an elderly elf woman who lives on the outside of Doveport. My mom told me that she was the one who actually founded Doveport hundreds of years ago.

But enough about information! I had a Patient I needed to help, “Ms. Liabella! I’m sorry, but Dr. Aeris is currently out buying more herbs at the market— who is this person?”

She made quick work of placing the unconscious child on one of the exam tables. He didn’t look too good, there was a long gash across his chest that was bleeding very fast. I cut off his shirt and started going over the procedures that Dr. Aeris told me about— first I had to disinfect the wound, and then stop the bleeding by wrapping it tight with bandages.

Ms. Liabella looked out of breath, beads of sweat gathering on her forehead, “I-I found the boy staring at me through my window this morning! I couldn’t tell he was bleeding, but he collapsed almost as soon as I saw him! I went out and saw this horrible cut on him— then I brought him right here!”

The story was odd— why was this boy in her yard in the first place? People didn’t usually travel here, considering how deep we are into the woods. But I pushed those thoughts out of my mind— first, I had to save him, then I could ask questions later.

“Malleus! Go get Dr. Aeris! It’s an emergency!” I called towards Mal’s office. He ran out a few moments after I said it, speeding off towards the marketplace.

After a few hours, me and Dr. Aeris got the boy stable. I was absolutely exhausted after that and was immediately sent home so I could go to sleep early— but the doctor complimented how well I did before I left.

The next day, right after I got ready, I immediately went over to the infirmary. The boy was still sleeping, but he looked much better than he did yesterday.

“Did you find out anything about him yet, Doctor?” I asked.

“I’m afraid not, my boy…. he’s been out ever since we got him stable.” Dr. Aeris sighed, and I could tell he’s been watching over him all night by the large bags under his eyes.

It took a few hours, but eventually the boy started to wake up under my watch. When he woke up, he immediately tried to sit up, not realizing that he had a large gash on his chest.

“Hey, please don’t sit up! You’ll hurt yourself more!” I carefully took hold of his shoulders and lightly pushed him back down onto the infirmary bed. He just sighed and accepted being pushed down, not trying to get back up again, “Um…. what’s your name?”

The boy glanced at me, “...... Leo.” He answered, looking back over to the wall.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Leo! My name is Tia!” I smiled at him, “Now ... are you fine with me and the doctor checking up on your wounds?”

Leo just nodded and then me and the doctor went to work. He was doing a lot better than yesterday, and he was healing up considerably well. After a few questions, we learned that his village had been ransacked, and he was the only one to survive, he was thirteen, and he was a half-Drow. He started to live with Ms. Liabella after that.

I didn’t realize the sheer amount of trauma he had until many months later.

Me and Leo were currently having a sleepover at Ms. Liabella‘s House. Me and him had grown very close since the day he arrived here, considering that me and Jo were the only ones close to him in age. He was actually very funny, and he had a major interest in being a spy, which I thought was silly— but it fit him so well.

“So ... truth or dare, T?” Leo asked, for some reason he insisted on shortening my name to ‘T’.

“Uhhhhhhhhhhh… truth!”

“Do you like my long hair? Jo keeps making fun of it….” He grumbled, running his fingers through his shoulder length hair.

“It looks nice! You know Jo will make fun of anything.” I giggled, it was totally true— she loved teasing people, it was never mean spirited though.

Leo blushed, “Thanks…. I’m glad that somebody has actual taste!”

I laughed, but then the door opened and Ms. Liabella peeked her head through the door, “Now, boys, it’s lights out time now. Don’t want to keep you two up for too long.”

“Okay, Liabella! We will!” Leo called, and Ms. Liabella went back out the door— but not before reminding us to bring our plates to the kitchen ourselves.

Leo grumbled and then took all the dishes himself, heading for the door. But then ... the dishes came crashing down on the floor.

Leo stopped dead in his tracks, looking down at the plates in horror. I was about to grab a broom when suddenly Leo started shaking. Tears gathered in his eyes and he suddenly fell down on the ground, scratching himself up with the shards of porcelain. He scooted back as far as he could from the shards until he was backed up against the wall.

“No no nonononononononononononono— it’s- it’s happening again!“ He gasped, suddenly started to hyperventilate, and I suddenly knew what was going on.

Panic attack. I had them a lot when I first got here— when I had a lot of nightmares. I sat in front of him, not touching him at all, I knew that would just make it worse.

“Leo…” I spoke softly, making sure I don’t startle him. I’m not sure how bad this exactly was yet…

He looked up at me fearfully, “Don’t- don’t hurt me…”

“I won’t.” I reassured him, “You’re not where you think you are. You’re in Ms. Liabella‘s house in Doveport.”

“B-but! The window crashed! It crashed then, and-and it crashed now!” He yelled, desperately trying to go back more into the wall.

“That wasn’t the window, it was just some plates— we’re having a sleepover, remember? We can just clean it up. No one’s going to hurt you, I promise.”

I hesitantly reached out and as soon as I saw him not flinch—pulled him into a hug, he stiffened up a bit at first, but then happily melted into the hug.

After a few minutes, he was completely calmed down, “Sorry ‘bout that, T… didn’t mean to make this awkward or anything…..”

“It’s completely fine. And I promise, no one will ever hurt you again.” He squeezed me harder at that, “I will keep you safe no matter what! Because we’re friends!”

Leo laughed, and the rest of the sleepover went fine— after we cleaned the shards and Leo’s cuts of course.

————————————  
“And then me and Leo were even closer after that. We were practically attached at the hip for years! And I can’t believe that I only started realizing I loved him when we were sixteen ...”

Me and Leo were laying on a hill in the middle of the night— the bright stars shining above us. I wanted to go out tonight because apparently there was something going on in the sky that made all the stars crazy bright! But it doesn’t seem that much different to me.

“It looks really pretty, T ... but it doesn’t look like it’s all that brighter.”

“Well! Maybe it’s just slightly brighter? Like so little that we can’t tell, but it’s still ... brighter?” I desperately tried to come up with an excuse— and I was failing miserably.

Leo snorted, “Well maybe you were just wrong? Not like you’re the sharpest tool in the shed ...”

I made a mock-offended noise, “Wow! I can’t believe it— my best friend, wounding me so bad with his amazing insults!”

“Pff- trust me, that wasn’t even the worst of my insults!” He winked, and I didn’t even think about the butterflies in my stomach.

We both teased each other a bit more, not even noticing the sky brightening up  
until it was absolutely obvious.

I grinned victoriously, pumping my fists up in the air, “Wow! Guess who the smart one is now!”

Leo just rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out, falling flat against the grass. I can’t believe how cute he is. Wait.

Cute?

———————————  
“Even after that I was so oblivious— up until Jo smacked me with the knowledge that I was completely pining after him.”

It was currently in the middle of winter— and me and Jo were chatting over some sweets my mama baked up.

“So like— you know that girl that came with that guard troupe a few days ago?” Jo asked.

“The human, half-orc, or elf?”

“Uh- half orc, duh. She was soooooo hot.” Jo suddenly smirked and looked at me with her usual mischievous look, “On the subject of hot ladies…. you find yourself a honey yet, Tia?”

I blushed, “Of course not! I’m focusing on my nursing work!” I yelped, I could tell my face was burning a dark blue color.

“Ha! Figured as much! Do you even know what it’s like to have a crush?” Jo tilted her head, her braids tilting as well, “Like the butterflies in the stomach deal?”

At that I paused— butterflies in the stomach? There’s no way that’s a— “That’s not a crush thing.”

“Oh? Are saying that Josephine “Lady’s girl” Aeris— is wrong?” She guffawed, overdramatically leaning back in her chair.

“Of course I am! You’ve never even had a girlfriend before!” I yelped, “Plus— there’s no way that’s a crush thing because I feel that way about Leo all the time and we’re just friends!”

That was clearly the wrong thing to say— because Jo proceeded to burst out laughing, “OH MY GOD, YOU’RE SUCH AN OBLIVIOUS MESS!!!!!”

“W-what?!” I yelled over her extremely loud laughing, seriously— Why was she always so loud?

“YOU’RE SUPER GAY FOR LEO, YOU DORK—“ She choked out— she almost fell out of her chair but saved herself in time.

I stopped in my tracks, and my face flushed— oh my god I totally was. I’m an idiot. An awful, oblivious, terrible idiot.

Eventually Jo stopped laughing and she laid a hand on my shoulder, “Dude— it’s chill, I’m pretty sure he’s super gay for you too. If the heart eyes he makes at you means anything.”

I slammed my head against the table and groaned, “How am I this stupid?”

“No idea— but it’s super funny.”

I just groaned louder.

——————————  
“Now that I finally figured that piece of vital information— now I had to confess to Leo about it. And when your crush is training to become an inside spy and get intel from many different places— that’s kinda tough.”

It had been three weeks since Leo left on another training mission. Three. Weeks.

I’m going absolutely crazy without him here, even with the rest of my friends around me. I really missed him.

“Tia? Sweet pea?” My mama called out for me, and I sprung up out of my bed— maybe it’s news about Leo?

“Yeah mama? What’s up?” There’s no way it’s about Leo, is it? No, why would my mama know about that—

“Leo’s back in town, he’s at Liabella’s place! Jo told me because you were sulkin’ in your room.” She chuckled.

I basically ran out of the house as fast as I could— but not before I gave my mama a kiss on the cheek. Leo was back. Leo was back. Leo. Was. Back!

I fully sprinted towards Ms. Liabella’s house— and I didn’t really sprint that often. When I finally made it there, I tried to clean myself up and knocked politely on the door. The person who answered made my heart jump into my throat. It was Leo but he looked…. different. Half of his head was shaved and his arms were covered in tattoos— it was definitely ... attractive.

I think Leo could see the shock on my face— because he smiled, blushing a bit, “Do you…. like the new look, T? I just wanted to try something new and I don’t know— it just felt cool and stuff and I think it looks super cool on me and-“

I didn’t answer, instead I just pulled him into a tight hug, “You’ve been gone for three weeks, and that’s the words I get?!” He looked shocked for a second, before he saw me smiling and hugged me back.

“Sorry for being gone so long, T, turns out that being a spy is actually pretty tough!” He laughed.

We didn’t pull apart after that, just standing in each other’s grip for a few minutes. That is, until I looked back up at him and saw him staring back at me. The height difference between us two had always been funny to people, considering that I’m five feet tall, while he’s five feet and eleven inches tall. But right now, I couldn’t even think about being embarrassed of my height— instead I just looked into his gorgeous amber eyes.

“Hey, Leo?” I asked softly, and I could tell I was blushing.

“Yeah, T?” He answered back, and even he had a soft grey blush on his cheeks. Cute.

“Your new look is incredibly awesome. And you’re looking absolutely adorable right now.”

Leo looked like his brain short circuited at that, and before he could even respond, I asked the question I’ve been wanting to ask for three months.

“Can I ... kiss you?”

Leo nodded dumbly, and I giggled before I grabbed his face and gently brought him close to me. And then our lips met, it was awkward and awful— it was both of our first kisses after all, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

When we pulled back, Leo was grinning so widely I thought his face would split, and he brought me into a hug—

the most amazing hug I’ve ever had.

———————————  
“After that, we became boyfriends. At first, I thought it would be difficult— with me being a full time nurse and him training to become a spy. But we made it work, and we rarely ever fought— and even when we did, it was just over small stuff. It was good ... until I started getting bored of the monotonous life in Doveport.”

“Hey mom?”

“Yes, Dear?”

“Could you… teach me how to use a crossbow?”

My mom looked at me with confusion, “What’s with this sudden request, I thought you didn’t like weapons?”

I stayed silent for a few minutes, “I just… want to be able to protect myself. The town needs their best nurse to be safe, right?”

I could tell that my mom didn’t believe a word I said, but she just sighed instead of bringing attention to it, “Well, okay then. When do you want to start training?”

——————————————  
“I trained with my mom for months after that, slowly perfecting my skills with my crossbow. It was tough at the start, but I got the hang of it eventually. But…. My mom was still suspicious of why I wanted to learn so badly.”

“You’re starting to become really skilled with that bow, dear.” My mom commented, looking at all of the targets that I had hit with pride.

“Thanks!” I grinned, I felt absolutely ecstatic with the progress I’ve made.

I managed to hit almost every single target today, only missing one of them. It felt amazing to finally do something new in my life for once.

I was so caught in my excitement, I didn’t even notice the the grim look my mom was giving me until her words broke me out of my trance, “You want to leave Doveport, don’t you?”

I froze, a million different excuses started running through my head. But I couldn’t make a sound, just staring at her in shock, “Yeah, I thought so.”

“H-how could you tell ...?” My voice was quiet, shaky. She’s going to be so disappointed in me, she’ll think I’m abandoning her and mama, she’s gonna-

“You’ve always had this light in your eyes, ever since you started warming up to me and Emory.” She began, circling around me and placing her hand on my shoulder, “But lately…. That spark has looked so dull. I hate seeing you so upset…. And once you asked me about crossbow lessons, I understood.” Her gaze was as soft as her voice was, “And I get it. I did that too when I was your age.”

“....What do you mean?”

“I used to live in an elven Kingdom called Nelsari. Dreadful place, don’t recommend it. It was full of stuck-up, pompous elves that held no respect for any of the other races. When I was sixteen…. I ran away, not agreeing with their way of life. Along the way I met Emory, moved into Doveport…. And here we are.” My mom smiled at me.

I couldn’t believe it. My mom, Kristine Lovelace, ran away from home. The most distinguished, coolest lady ever-- ran away from home because it was too stuffy and fancy?, “Wow….”

Mom laughed and looked down at me, “I know, right?”

——————————————  
“After that, our bond grew a lot. We continued on with our training, and I kept on getting better. It was a secret between us for a while but…. I guess my mama got a bit curious.”

“I’m curious, sugar-” Oh no, “Where do you and Kristy go off to on Saturdays? Is it some sort of secret mom-son thing? ‘Cause I may be ‘mama’, but I still got a trick or two up my sleeve!”

“Oh-hahahaha- Mama it’s nothing- we just go out to the woods a lot, it’s nothing you have to worry about-”

“Well, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that there’s somethin’ fishy goin on here, mister!” My mama looked angry for a split second, before she started laughing, “Aw shucks hun, I was just messin’ with ya! Didn’t mean to scare you or nothin’.”

I sighed, “It’s fine, mama….”

She laid a hand on my shoulder, “Hey, if anythin’ else bothern’ ya- just tell me, I don’t like seein’ my baby boy all sad.”

“Well it’s…. Kind of complicated.”

“Trust me, all mothers will understand anything their child throws at ‘em.”

———————————  
“I did tell her…. After a few months. She was sad that I wanted to leave but also proud that I was so independent? It was weird. Eventually I had announced it to all of Doveport, that I was going to leave…. Some time in the near future. And it turned out that the day of my departure would be the day after my nineteenth birthday.”

I decided that as soon as I woke up, I would just treat this day like any other day. I didn’t want this to be some sort of sad day for anyone- it’s supposed to be happy.

“Mmm- go back to' sleep, T. Birthday boys get to sleep in….” Leo mumbled sleepily, hugging me closer to his body.

“Then why are you still sleeping here, love?”

Leo pouted, “‘Cuz i’m the birthday boys boyfriend.”

I giggled brightly, “Well, I’ll let you sleep while I’m getting ready then.” I gave him a poke on the nose to emphasize my point.

“Okay…. Don’t know how I'll sleep without my little tiefling beside me, but I'll manage.”

As I unwrapped his arms from around my waist, I gave him a kiss on the forehead which made him hum in content.

After an hour, I went back into my room and found Leo lounging on the bed, awake but still sleepy. I can’t believe how cute my boyfriend is.

“Birthday boy! Birthday boy! Birthday boy!” Leo called as I walked through the door.

“Boyfriend! Boyfriend! Boyfriend!” I called back, which made Leo chuckle.

“Hi, cutie. You’re a dork.” He smirked and stuck his tongue out at me.

“Not as much of a dork as you are, love!” I chirped and flopped down next to him on the bed.

—————————————  
“As much as…. I’d love to tell the entirety of this story…. I can’t. Maybe I’ll talk about the little details later…. But right now I need to get to the point of this- my birthday party. Me and Leo hung out around town- it was supposed to be him distracting me from my surprise party but he’s never good at keeping secrets when it comes to me.”

Me and Leo were still walking around town, after gathering a whole bunch of stupid stuff. But it was still great, after all I did get to spend a lot of time with my boyfriend. It’ll be hard to leave him tomorrow but…. I’ll keep in touch as best as I can.

“All right! And now- our final stop!” Leo waved his hands around spectacularly as we stopped in front of my house.

I giggled, “You have been an excellent tour guide.”

“And you have been an excellent tourist, T.”

Right before I walked through the door, Leo took my hand in his own and gave it a little squeeze. I smiled softly at him before I opened the door and walked in. My house was dark, the entirety of the living room basked in darkness. Of course, with my dark vision, I could see all of the figures hiding in the shadows, ‘Mama loves a traditional human birthday party.’

Suddenly, the lights came on and everyone yelled ‘surprise!’, when I didn’t look shocked they all sent pointed glares toward Leo, “What? You all know I’m god's awful at lying to him.”

The party was great, and the day was full of joy- just like I wanted it to be. Almost everyone in Doveport showed up, save for the few that were out of town for some sort of event in a larger city. I got plenty of great gifts, and my mama even baked me a pie because cake is too much for me. Apparently I’m going to get a special surprise present at the end of the party, let’s see how good this surprise is compared to the other one.

“Jeez, kid, how’d you grow up so fast?” I heard a smooth voice with a hard to place accent behind me, and when I turned around, I saw Malleus, standing right behind me.

“Woah, Mal? You came out of your lab?”

“Of course, kid. I’d never miss something as cool as you getting all old.”

“You’re in your thirties-” I snorted at the offended expression he gave me, “You don’t get to call me the ‘old’ one.”

“How dare you, I’m only thirty-two! I don’t deserve to be treated with such disrespect!” He sent me a faux-offended face before he started chuckling at the stupid performance we’re doing.

I laughed along too, before I pulled him into a tight, “Glad you came today.”

“Well, I’d never miss my trans bro’s birthday, right?”

I smiled softly, “Of course. And I'd never miss anything important to my trans bro.”

———————————  
“There was…. A lot of interactions that went like that. But eventually it started to get late and people started going home. By the time only me, Leo, my mom’s, and the Aeris’were there it was apparently finally time for my big surprise. I still think that they all planned it out though.”

My eyes were being covered by Dr. Aeris’ large, fuzzy hands. I could feel the chilly wind on my skin as we apparently walked through the village, Well, at least they finally made it so I couldn’t see anything.

“Almost there, sugar! Just a few more minutes!” My mama almost sounded more excited than I felt. Almost

“I can’t wait to see what it is!” I chirped back, or front? I’m not exactly sure where she is.

After a few more minutes of idle chatter, we stopped dead in our tracks, “And we’re….” The hands on my eyes flew away and I was left staring at a large…. Barn? “Here!”

“Wow…. it’s…. Wow.” I tilted my head to the side in confusion, “Is…. this the present?”

“Nope, the present’s inside the barn, dummy!” Jo grabbed my arm and started to drag me towards the large building. And seeing as I’m only a lanky tiefling of five feet in height, I got dragged pretty easily.

The inside wasn’t much different from the outside, and most of the stalls were empty…. Well, except for one, and it contained- “A horse?”

It was a very pretty horse, black and white spotted with a beautiful black mane, “Yup! It’s yours! So you don’t have to go and buy yourself a horse.” My mama smiled brightly.

“It was Emory’s idea, but we all did chip in to help pay for her.” My mom stood by my mama’s side and placed her hand on her shoulder.

I blushed and smiled brightly, “Wow…. you all helped with this? For me?” I couldn’t see my face but I could tell I was getting a little misty eyed.

“Of course, T. We all love you, even if some of us,” He sent a glance to Jo and Malleus, “don’t really show it a lot.”

I could feel the tears start falling as I rushed towards the group and gave them each a big hug, it’s…. Nice. To know that someone loves you just as much as you love them….

“Wait, crybaby! I got a lil somethin’-somethin’ for you too!” Jo exclaimed, and then pulled out a piece of cloth from her pocket. It was a bandanna, colored in many different colors, making a perfect rainbow color, “Can you believe how weird it is to get measurements for a horse’s neck? Super weird dude, you better give me the biggest ‘thank you’ ever!”

I can’t believe how awesome my friends and family are. They’re supportive and believe in me and they helped me grow into the best person I can be…. I love my life.

———————————  
“............ It’s kinda rough looking back on it, seeing as I started going on my adventure after that. I was so happy, and I was excited to go out and explore places!..... But I didn’t even think about how the people around me would feel.”

It was in the middle of the night when I heard a sniffle. It was probably about midnight, and my party had ended a few hours ago after I got Rainbow. Everything was going well, and me and Leo went to bed…. So why was he trembling against me?

“Mmm, love?” As soon as I spoke, I could feel him stiffen up against me.

It was completely silent for a few moments, before- “Yeah,T?” He sounded awful, like he had been crying hard.

“Are…. you okay? You sound shaky.”

“I’m….” I could hear the hesitancy in his voice, “Not ... okay. At all.”

I turned over and saw him curling into himself, looking like he was on the verge of a breakdown, “Love, what’s wrong? Are you having ...?”

“S’ not flashbacks.”

“Then what is it-”

“Please don’t leave.”

The silence in the air is deafening, and for a few seconds I almost thought I didn’t hear him right. “Wha-”

“I’m sorry. I just- I just don’t want to lose you, T.” He sounded desperate, “I know you want to do this but- we can have a future together here! We’ve been doing so well and I just don’t-” He scrunched his eyes shut and gripped at the bed.

“Leo, you’re going to have a panic attack if you keep on like this, look at me.” I gently held his face, rubbing soothing circles— and after a few minutes, he calmed down.

“Sorry that you’ve always gotta help me out of that, T.” He mumbled and looked away from me.

“It’s okay, Love. You help me out when I get a little…. off the rails too.” I smiled and leaned over, giving him a small peck on the forehead.

I heard him sigh in content, “I…. didn’t mean to make it seem like I’m not supportive of you traveling. I was just freaking out and didn’t know-“

“I get it.” I pulled back and smiled, “I understand what it’s like to have some…. abandonment issues.”

“Yeah….”

It was silent for a while after that, both of us just clinging to each other like we would die if we let go. I couldn’t help but feel so guilty, should I just stay here?-

As if Leo had read my mind, he responded, breaking the silence finally, “You should still go, T.”

“Really….? I…. I don’t want to make it seem like I’m leaving you or anything-“ Leo cut me off by pulling my face close to his and giving me a soft kiss. It was definitely effective, because I immediately melted into it and laid my hands on his waist.

“I know you love me. And I know you’re too sweet and adorable and amazing to ever do that.” He mumbled against my lips.

I smiled, “We should... probably go back to bed, right?” I chuckled awkwardly.

Leo laughed as well and then turned over, letting me spoon him. We stayed like that until we both finally fell asleep, and neither of us woke up again that night.

———————————————  
“The next day was ... full of tears, to stay the least. It felt awful to say goodbye to the people I’ve known since I was a child, but it also felt strangely liberating to go out on my own. It’s weird. I promised that I would write and visit as often as I could, before I went out on Rainbow. I was riding through the woods outside of Doveport for hours before I finally came out into a large meadow.”

“I rode down an old dirt road, stopping by towns for weeks. I made so many new friends through these journeys, but I could feel myself being pulled into a new direction all the time. I had been journeying for about a month before I made it to a fishing town— a boat on the docks told me that they were on duty for an old scientist. And then they offered for me to be a nurse on ship.”

“I accepted. And that’s when this adventure began for me.”


End file.
